53 And they escorted Jesus to the high priest. And all the high ranking priests and the elders and the scribes came together. 54 And Peter had followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. And he was sitting with the guards and warming himself at the fire. 55 Now the high ranking priests and the whole Council were trying to acquire testimony against Jesus to put him to death, but they found none. 56 Because many presented false witness against him, but their testimony did not agree.

misdirected unity

In a council like the Sanhedrin, one can expect factions and divisions. It’s when unity happens that one has to take care. The unity the priests, elders and scribes obtained the day of Christ’s trial was misdirected. It is a warning that God’s people must seek something beyond unity, because unity itself can just be a process of coming together to do something wrong. Our Lord was a victim of such unity.

So, in our desire to be unified, we should always check ourselves. Unity gained by forsaking the truth is always a dangerous thing. It was that very type of unity that made it possible for religious leaders to put to death their own creator.

LORD, direct our pursuits of unity so that we come together to do good and not evil. Balance our ecumenism with a concern for bringing you glory through insight and wisdom.